Thursday, 7 August 2014

Why Urhoboland attracts investors (Part 1)

HRM, The Orodje of OkpePhoto credit: George Ogodi

To say Urhoboland is the most peaceful land in the entire
country where investors can invest their money and go to sleep with their two
eyes close without molestation from any quarters is to state the obvious.
Urhobo is the most accommodative, peaceful and receptive nation among the
various nations that constitute the country. As the fifth largest tribe in the
country, it is the only tribe that has not taken up arms against the Federal
Government despite the glaring marginalisation, oppression and provocation she
has been suffering over the years.

The Urhobo nation hosts about 30 percent of
oil and gas deposit in the country yet she is not a major player in the oil and
gas industry in the country in terms of employment opportunities and ownership
of oil blocs. In the midst of these vivid oppression of the Urhobos, they have
however remain peaceful not for weakness, cowardice or lack of the will for
self-determination but because they love the unity of the country.

Thus, the peaceful nature of the Urhobo people has been
attracting people and investors from all over the world into the land. In the
early 1980s industries such as Superbru Limited, Agbarah-Otor, Sparkling Brewery,
Ughelli, Edewor Brewery, Eku, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Limited, Ekpan,
Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Delta Glass Limited, Ugehlli,
African Timber and Plywood (ATP), Sapele, Delta Power Four, Ughelli, Delta
Steel Company Limited, Ovwian-Aladja, Otorogu Gas Plant, Udu and many oil wells
and flow stations were established in Urhoboland. Unfortunately, some of these
industries had folded up due to erratic power supply and harsh economic policies
introduced by the Federal Government.

Considering the amiable nature of the Urhobo people, one is
most disturbed by an article written by one Mr. Peter Akpokere Ikolo titled
“Urhobo’s Greed Scares Away Investors” and published on Tuesday, June 24, 2014
on Urhobo Today, an online publication. Regrettably, that article portrayed the
Urhobo people as the most unfriendly people in the country. So, this article
sets to correct the erroneous and damning position taken by Mr. Ikolo, the
writer of the said article.

According to Ikolo, MTN that had a workforce of 500 personnel
left Ugborikoko Community (Uvwie) because the aboriginals were making incessant
demands such as refuse levy, community development levy, homage money for
chiefs, requests for ghost workers etc. Furthermore, Ikolo said that local government
area sticker boys were harassing MTN vehicles demanding stickers for motor
boy/conductor badge and permit for radio antenna. As a reasonable and thinkable
Nigerian, I doubt if these were the reasons why MTN left Uvwie because what is
the total value of the levies mentioned above? It must be that MTN was not
having enough patronage from the Uvwie community in terms of profitability that
was why the network provider left. If MTN could not operate in Uvwie as alleged
by Ikolo because of the above mentioned levies, how has it been able to operate
in harsh cities in Lagos? In Lagos State, revenue and tax collectors go about
in bizarre manners to collect Radio Levy, Packing Levy, Mobile Advertisement
Levy, Refuse Levy, Mast Levy etc. The Mobile Advertisement Levy collectors
stand on the roads with spike iron which they place on the roads to stop and
collect levies from vehicles that bear company names, logos and advertisements.

In addition, Omo-liles which is the equivalent of Emo-tors (sons
of the soil) will not allow a truck to offload its loads if they are not paid
certain fees. They also stand on the roads with spike iron with which they stop
and collect various levies from vehicle with loads. Omo-liles in Lagos are also
known as “agberos”. They collect different levies from commercial bus drivers
including “money for environmental sanitation” every Thursdays and last
Saturdays of the month! They collect money for park chairman’s food three times
daily. I do not think this is practised in Uvwie. It cannot be contested that
MTN is paying some of the above mentioned levies in some cities in Lagos for
which Ikolo has branded the Urhobos as unfriendly. With these multiple levies
MTN maybe paying in various cities in Lagos why has it not left such cities? Again,
why should Ikolo brand the entire Urhobo people as unfriendly just because of
what transpired in Uvwie which is just one local government council of the
eight local government areas which constitute a major part of the Urhobo
nation. Ikolo should not forget that we also have Urhobos in Patani and
Warri-South Local Government Areas of Delta State and some parts of Bayelsa
State! Have all these Urhobos in other parts of Delta and Balyesa States become
unfriendly simply because of the event that occurred in Uvwie Local Government
Council which is even in doubt?

Ikolo also accused the Urhobos of having “a myopic nature
which is second to none in Nigeria”, saying that “in the 1960s, the Urhobo
people of Ughelli (by omission or commission) drove away Royal Dutch Shell
(SPDC) that wanted to site its head office there. In the 1970s, the same Urhobo
people of Ughelli drove away NNPC (IDSL) that wanted to site its regional
office in the town”. To Ikolo I ask, what have all the oil wells, flow
stations, gas flaring plant sited at Ereke village in Kokori Town, Warri Refining
and Petrochemical Company in Ekpan, Otorugun Gas Plant in Udu, benefited the
Urhobos? How many Urhobo people are working in those oil and gas companies that
are hosted by the Urhobos? Is it not people from other parts of the country
that are enjoying the sweat of the Urhobos? Yes, the Urhobo people of Ugehlli
refused to give their lands to Shell and NNPC because they knew it would not
benefit them as they were farmers and were using their lands for farming.
Today, have the Urhobos of Ughelli not be vindicated for their refusal to give
out their lands? Will the Urhobos of Uvwie who gave their land at Ekpan to the
Federal Government to establish the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company
repeat the same mistake today? Are they being paid royalties by the Federal
Government for giving their lands for the refinery?

Or, will the Urhobos
of Ereke, Uvwie, and Ovwia-Aladja who gave their lands to Shell, Nigerian Army
and the Federal Government to establish Ereke Gas flaring Plant, Warri Refining
and Petrochemical Company and Delta Steel Company Limited respectively, repeat
the same costly mistake? Today, the Urhobos in Ereke are living with grave
health problems such as asthma, cough, chronic bronchitis, glaucoma, premature
death etc. occasioned by flaring gas that began many years back.